Computer Assisted School Administration (CASA) : Factors Crucial For The Success Of Its Implementation At Fully Residential Schools In Kedah Darul Aman

The purpose of this study is to investigate the developmental stage of Computer Assisted School Administration (CASA), factors crucial to the success of its implementation, and its strengths and weaknesses at fully residential schools (SBPs) in the state of Kedah Darul Aman. The methodology used included case study, survey and literature review. Three cases (SBPl, SBP2 and SBP3) were studied and compared. Much of the background of this study is obtained from the literature review. A total of 21 subjects, school administrators ranging from principals to senior subject teachers, were involved in the survey. Descriptive analysis was used to process the data. It was found that SBPl, SBP2 and SBP3 are in the expansion, integration and initiation stages respectively. All three cases revealed that only staff attitude is perceived to be a crucial success factor of CASA implementation. The strengths of CASA were identified as adequate computer facilities, fair distribution of administrators’ demography, fully utilised computer networking (LAN), computer literate administrators and access to the INTERNET. Its weaknesses, however, are in contrast to its strengths except for no integration among the areas of computer application and an uninitiated managerial behaviour. The result of the findings can aid other schools (SBPs, in particular) considering to indulge their administrative system with CASA

Pendekatan Al-Quran Dalam Mencegah Al-Fasad Al-Mali: Aplikasi Di Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia

Al-fasad al-mali difahami sebagai perlakuan yang bertentangan dengan syara’ dalam pemilikan harta atau perolehan manfaat untuk individu atau kumpulan dan ia boleh berlaku dalam pelbagai bentuk. Al-fasad al-mali is understood as any acts or conducts of the ownership or acquisition of properties which against to the Islamic Law, that occurred in various types of actions

Phylogenetic relationship of non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae isolated in Malaysia

The epidemiology of non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) remains poorly understood. We therefore sought to determine the genetic relationship of 25 NTHi isolated from various states in Malaysia using multilocus sequence typing (MLST). The majority of isolates were obtained from sputum. There were 24 novel sequence types (STs). Eight isolates were single-locus variants, the remainder being singletons. Clustering was not based on clinical site of isolation or geographical origin. Despite the limited number of isolates examined in this study, we demonstrate that NTHi isolates in Malaysia are diverse and warrant further investigation

Assessing Student Approaches to Learning: A Case of Business Students at the Faculty of Business Management, UiTM

AbstractThe main aim of the study is to investigate the approaches to learning, motives and strategies of the business students at the Faculty of Business Management, UiTM. The study is also to explore the impact of age, gender, academic programmes, working experience and CGPA on the learning approaches. All these variables are selected because they bring quality of the learning outcomes on a more realistic basis. Today, there is an increasing emphasis on quality of learning in higher education. The literature identifies the approaches to learning as a significant factor affecting the quality of student learning. It is necessary to look at approaches to learning practiced by students because students might rote learn and therefore not be engaged in meaningful learning. This involves students acquiring skills and strategies, which allow them to learn effectively throughout their lives and become lifelong learners. It is important for educators to understand student learning in order to achieve the desired high quality learning outcomes. A survey is conducted in this study and the sample of this study consists of the business students (N=477) enrolled at the Faculty of Business Management, UiTM Shah Alam. Data are obtained using the Biggs’ Study Process Questionnaire (SPQ) as a diagnostic tool for measuring students’ self-reported study processes in terms of six subscales (Surface Motives and Surface Strategies, Deep Motives and Deep strategies, and Achieving Motives and Achieving Strategies), three derived Scales (Surface Approaches, Deep Approaches and Achieving Approaches) and a composite derived Scale (Deep-Achieving Approaches). The key findings provide inputs to the current scenario on the learning process specifically for the Faculty of Business Management, UiTM and will act as a basis for improvement in learning approaches of students

Panton-Valentine Leucocidin-Positive Staphylococcus aureus Nasal Carriers in a Tertiary Hospital in Selangor-Malaysia

Panton-Valentine Leukocidin (PVL) is a cytotoxin produced by Staphylococcus aureus that causes leukocyte destruction and tissue necrosis. Therefore, this study aimed to detect the rate, antimicrobial susceptibility, associated risk factors, and the phylogenetic relationship of PVL-positive S. aureus nasal carriers among patients and nurses. The research methods included the collection of 315 nasal specimens obtained from inpatients and nurses. The identification of S. aureus was confirmed by a coagulase test. The multiplex polymerase chain reaction technique was used to affirm PVL-positive S. aureus. The antibiotic sensitivity of S. aureus isolates was carried out using the disk diffusion method. The phylogenetic similarity of PVL-positive S. aureus was identified by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. This study revealed that 160 out of 315 (50.8%) isolates were S. aureus. In addition, 7/160 (4.4%) had the lukS gene (six MSSA and one MRSA). The PVL-positive S. aureus isolates were 100% sensitive to gentamicin, linezolid, mupirocin, rifampin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, teicoplanin, tigecycline, and vancomycin. The risk factor analysis revealed that a longer hospital stay, nasogastric intubation, and runny nose were significant risk factors for patients to be PVL-positive S. aureus nasal carriers. A phylogenetic similarity analysis of PVL-positive isolates showed five models and they were distantly correlated. Therefore, the current study will provide knowledge to the hospital infectious control authority

Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage in medical students of Universiti Teknologi MARA / Zaini Mohd Zain … [et al.]

To determine the prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) nasal carriage and detection of S. aureus leukotoxins among medical students of Universiti Teknologi MARA. Methods: Both sides of the anterior nares of 136 volunteers, comprising 68 preclinical and 68 clinical medical students, were swabbed and immediately cultured onto mannitol salt agar for growth of S. aureus. Standard microbiological techniques were conducted to identify and confirm the S. aureus colonies and susceptibility test against oxacillin were conducted by using Kirby-Bauer method to determine their resistance to methicillin. Polymerase chain reaction was performed for detection of leukotoxins, i.e., Panton-Valentine Leukocidin (PVL) and -haemolysin genes. Results: Nineteen students (14%) consisting of 10 preclinical (14.7%) and 9 clinical (13.2%) were nasal carriers of S. aureus. However, none of the S. aureus isolates were MRSA. No PVL gene was detected but eight of them were positive for -haemolysin gene. Conclusion: There were no MRSA nasal carriers among the medical students, but a low prevalence of S. aureus nasal carriers was detected. These carriers do not pose as high risk because none of the strains of S. aureus possess both the -haemolysin toxin and the PVL toxin that are associated with tissue necrosis

The inhibitory effect of lemon juice (citrus limon) on vibrio parahaemolyticus in raw oyster (crassostrea virginica) / Siti Farah Alwani Mohd Nawi … [et al.]

Serving raw oysters with lemon juice is a delicacy in many restaurants in Malaysia. Oysters (Crassostrea virginica) live in the seacoast and they share the same environment as Vibrio parahaemolyticus. Consumption of raw oysters contaminated with V. parahaemolyticus can lead to severe gastroenteritis. A study was performed to determine whether lemon (Citrus limon) juice is able to inhibit the growth of V. parahaemolyticus after being inoculated in raw oysters. Methods: Frozen oysters bought from a local supplier weighing 6 g each were minced and placed in two bottles using sterile technique. Approximately 1 ml of 107 CFU of V. parahaemolyticus (ATCC strain 17802) was added and mixed in both bottles. The mixture was treated with 1 ml of lemon juice in only one of the bottles and the other bottle served as a control. At every 30 s intervals for 2 min, 1 g of the sample was taken for enumeration of viable cells onto thiosulphate citrate bile salt sucrose (TCBS). Results: After 30 s of treatment with the lemon juice, it was observed that the number of colonies in the treated samples reduced from 7 Log to 3 Log. Subsequently, no viable V. parahaemolyticus was seen. It was also observed that there were 3 Log reductions of V. parahaemolyticus after 30 s in untreated samples, however the number of colonies remained stable until the end of the experiment. Conclusion: This study therefore shows that lemon juice has some antimicrobial effect on V. parahaemolyticus in raw oysters

Isolation of Neospora caninum from a calf in Malaysia

In order to attempt isolate the protozoan parasite Neospora caninum, an N. caninum seropositive pregnant Sahiwal Friesian cross heifer from a large-scale dairy farm in Malaysia was kept for observation until parturition at the Veterinary Research Institute, Ipoh. The heifer gave birth to a female calf that was weak, underweight and unable to rise. Precolostral serum from the calf had an N. caninum indirect fluorescent antibody test titre of 1:3200. It died 12 h after birth and necropsy was performed. Brain homogenate from the calf was inoculated into 10 BALB/c mice that were kept for 3 months after which brain tissue from the mice was inoculated onto 24 h fresh monolayer Vero cell lines. The cell cultures were examined daily until growth of intracellular protozoa was observed. DNA of the organisms from the cell cultures was analyzed by PCR and DNA sequencing. DNA fragments of the expected size were amplified from the isolate using N. caninum-specific primers, and sequence analysis of ITS1 clearly identified the isolate as N. caninum. This is the first successful isolation of N. caninum from a bovine in Malaysia, and the isolate is designated Nc-MalB1